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In anticipation of it hammering down with rain tomorrow I took my regular ride to Greenwich Park for a Billy no mates coffee stop. Rode back toward home in Dartford via Eltham but decided to carry on for a bit. Rode out to Swanley and hit the lanes through to Wilmington and then back home. I guess 30 or so miles. Aside from the wind it was a beautiful afternoon out there!
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Took the new geared frame that I've been building up out for a first proper run this morning. Felt great to be finally riding it after having it sit around the garage, garden and house since just after Christmas.
Had a bit of an "Oh Shit" moment going down a hill when I hit a small pothole and the handlebars slipped round a bit in the quill stem giving me a Lo Pro stance on the hoods when I really didn't need one. Sorted it out and re-tightened everything else up as well just in case.
40 miles of cloud, rain and then finally some sunshine just as we were getting back to town.
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I assumed track would get rained off so went and did a little loop out south. Nothing remarkable, except the weather - pissing with rain, followed by fog so thick I nearly had to stop riding, followed by brilliant sunshine. Fun nonetheless.
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http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/gQkqSa6-f_o
Today with Sumo, Dancing James, Cupcakes and Fussballclub. It was lovely out today
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Was good to ride with you for a bit and it seems that James and his Garmin got you home in time.
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Upstart - what time were you going through Brasted? Might have seen you as we enjoyed the best bacon sandwich in the cafe there.
I'd guess about 1230, but could be 30 mins either way.
Didn't see many other people out there, just a guy going the wrong way on Titsey Hill as I whizzed past in the opposite direction and a train of de Ver chaps.
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I was also riding fixed, with XH et al on gears. I am consequently now rather tired.
Good for you Rich, show 'em how it's done!
youramericanlover your coastal ride looks great, I'd like to do that. And well done for taking some decent pictures.
Yesterday was the Shaftesbury Spring 150 audax for me. I've had a chest infection and still wasn't feeling A1, I also haven't been riding by bike much (last proper ride was the Worthing Winter Warmer on the 11th of February). On top of this I managed to get an upset stomach, so I was slow and really struggled at a few points (spybot has a photo of me lying on my back at the side of the road at one point, I'll try to get hold of it and put it up!). It was also very windy, which obviously didn't help either.
Some lovely lanes in empty countryside though, and very little traffic.
Still, longest audax I've done so far, first fixed wheel challenge point, first fixed century this year and the fruitcake was excellent as it was last year. A control point at the speciality tea rooms in Sisted too and I was revived at the end by a piece of cherry pie and custard. Yum.
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Went out and did the routecheck ride for The Dean 300k Audax yesterday.
Kicked off at 4.30am in the hope of an early finish and drive back to Sheffield by midnight but it wasn't to be. There was fog at the start so I couldn't bomb it around the Cotswold Lanes as fast as I would have liked for fear of hitting a hole or coming off the side. After daylight broke it was over two steep hills and then into the rain for a bit of a soaking.
However it did break to sun which stayed with me for much of the rest of the day.
Headwind slowed me down through the Forest of Dean as well and by the turn point I was already pretty knackered. The resulting tailwind just meant that I was pottering quickly rather than slowly. Did manage to ride all the way up to the Somerset Monument though, which was pleasing and successfully scaled the double whammy that is Broad Town Hill and Hackpen Hill.
Raised eyebrows at Membury Services as some guy tried hard to understand why I was in a motorway facility on a bike. Alas I failed to sufficiently clarify my point.
Had to race pathetically through pub o'clock Oxford to get back to the van before the parking expired. Slow drive home with nap stops.Am knackered and will now spend the day eating.
300k, more climbing than John Bishop, faster than John Bishop, not paced by Chris Boardman.
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^why I won't be suffering on The Dean in March...
Also did the Shaftesbury 150 with Fox. After a bleary-eyed early start we were lucky enough to get sucked along for the first 50 by some rather handy club riders, who took all the wind. After Fox had finished eating and dithering at the (admitedly very cosy) teastop they'd all gone so we got our face full of wind for the next 50. It was energy sapping and by the100k mark I was riding on fumes, but at least the rain had held off and we had plenty of sun. The last 50 was fairly undulating but lovely in the evening sun, which we would have missed if we'd have kept up with the quicker folk out front. A scenic route, but fucking exhausting. Apparently a fair few other fixed riders but didn't get a glimpse of them.
I guess the ride wouldn't have been complete without Fox 'cheating' and following the garmin down a wrong turn...
And if you insist:
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Did the 'Surrey Rumble' today,epic rain all day and some snow
http://www.surreyrumble.co.uk/index.html?var1=http://www.surreyrumble.co.uk/content/about.htmand Ummmmm I thought Shaftesbury was in Dorset, thats why I didnt look at it...............
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Left the house at nine, to clearing drizzle with the sky seemingly lightening.
Felt really strong, and decided to take the long way round (I was heading to Richmond Park), and therefore went via Brockley.
Things took a turn for the worse though- and I decided to be a massive chikaarn at the point that my socks got completely saturated, and headed for home.
20 or so miles, and the route was slightly ironically my weekday commute, just without the 8 hour break on the middle.
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Did the 'Surrey Rumble' today,epic rain all day and some snow
http://www.surreyrumble.co.uk/index.html?var1=http://www.surreyrumble.co.uk/content/about.htmFun times. Long or short route?
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Did my 6 monthly trip to Richmond Park on Saturday and today was 7 hours in the pissing rain, trying to rival this summer's Alpine descents for coldness. I think today might have won. Had to ride home without gloves as it was warmer than with. Not sure how that works. Think my toenails might fall off. Had some weird colour in my feet. Couldn't use gears. Couldn't get food out of pockets. This was all after the Rumble. The Rumble itself was cool.
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Also did the Surrey Rumble, think Hippy passed me just after the split. Did the long route on fixed as this bike had mudguards. Snow at the 50 mile point and for the half-hour after that. Felt like Bernard Hinault at the 1980 Liege-Bastogne-Liege (aside from the fact that I cycled less distance, am older, fatter, slower and less talented - but apart from that almost the same). Couldn't turn the key in the door when I got home. A day to remember...
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^why I won't be suffering on The Dean in March...
To be fair to The Dean, it is a beautiful ride, especially if you're out with other riders. It has a handful of feature climbs but most of the climbing that gets you the Audax Altitute Award points is soaked up in undulations. None of the feature climbs alone is sufficient to warrant much suffering. The pay off is that if you're at least a moderate descender (a skill not easily afforded the fixed community) then there's a lot of payoff to be had on the way round.
To add to that, the shape of the route means that you'll get some shelter from headwinds and inevitably pick up some cracking tailwinds in return if the weather is a bit blowy. Although it runs in the risky season at the start of spring, if you get a good day out, this ride can leave you feeling on top of the world when you roll into the finish. I reckon that's a risk worth taking. I knew I was in for a hard day when I set off and I'm still glad I did it. The next couple of audaxes are going to be a doddle in comparison, even though I'm doing them on fixed.
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I had considered your ride, but I think it's slightly beyond me at this point in the year. I was very tempted though. I haven't really logged enough miles this winter to be in shape for something like that. Always next year.
wvm
hms
upstart
Pooface2
Cupcakes
fussballclub
jim1985
Fox
The_Seldom_Killer
pastry_bot
tonyme
Dammit
hippy
BigFatAl-
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Tell us about your weekend ride
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Sunday's weather looks rubbish... so I chipped off early this afternoon to get some nice sunny miles covered.
Met a handfull of other skivers doing the same.